Series: Philippians
Sermon: “Saint Who?”
Philippians 1:1-2
Pastor John Bright
Philippians 1 “1 Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Today, I return to teaching through a book of the Bible. This style of preaching is known as “Consecutive Expository Preaching.” I have to tell you – this is my most favorite way to preach! It also has the advantage of presenting the “whole counsel of God” that Paul mentioned in Acts 20:27.
As we jump into Philippians, I want to look at some BIG PICTURE ideas from the book Paul wrote as directed by the Holy Spirit. One of the main topics of this book is UNITY. If the Church will not stay unified, we have no hope of showing Christ to the world nor conforming to the Will of God. Jesus put it this way in John 17 "20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me."
If we are going to stay unified, then we need to again have unity of belief. The Church has been drifting further and further from unity of belief. Not worship styles or how we baptized folks – we need to get back to some core beliefs about salvation and sexual morality. These beliefs serve as a boundary that defines those who are within the Church and those who are outside. Back in 1993, studies showed that 80% of Baby Boomers thought that each person "should arrive at his or her own religious beliefs independent of any churches or synagogues." (Roof, 1993, p 1-8) These folks were still in the church – but thought they could believe whatever they wanted and still call themselves Christians. These folks raised the next generation that have no use for formal religious practice. They have rejected the cross of Jesus for a world view that makes each person their own god. They even create a god for themselves that accepts their sin by carving out parts of the Bible and explaining to us lowly evangelicals – “that’s not what it really means.”
Here we go with book of Philippians… Paul opens this letter with a strong word of humility and submission
v. 1 “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,”
Some translations use the word servant or slave (that’s a tough one in today’s world) All these words are translated from the Greek word doulos, which means “one who is subservient to, and entirely at the disposal of, his master” This describes the servant as being willing to submit and be humble in what he does for the master. For Paul and Timothy – Jesus Christ is the master – they did as they were told, being led by the Holy Spirit. Listen to what happened when Paul, Silas and Timothy were traveling to share the Gospel - Acts 16 “6 Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. 7 After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. 8 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Guess what city was in the Macedonian Province? Philippi)
There is an old testament description of the bondservant that again shows us the willingness of the bondservant to be in service to the master - Ex. 21 “5 But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.”
Imagine that – not hard in a day when men and women have “gauges” in their ears that can be several inches across. In Ancient Israel – that hole meant you had willingly agreed to serve in the household of your master. God wants the same from us – not our ears! God wants our hearts – our minds – our wills – our hands and feet. Not much left…. yup! God wants all of us because He wants the best for us!
Paul continues by addressing the letter to both the congregation and the leaders of the house church(es) at Philippi
Leaders: v. 1 “bishops and deacons” In the early church, bishops/elders, were responsible to shepherd the believers – especially through teaching. Deacons had a formal ministry of taking communion to the sick or prisoner and help in worship. We read about the beginning of this division of office or function in the Early Church in Acts 6:1-7
“Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Today – we have same divisions – we have appointed clergy and elected leadership within the church. All walking and working together. Paul includes these leaders as a part of the Church. This is another point at which he stresses unity in the Body of Christ.
Paul refers to the congregation as “all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.”v.1 He is not referring to everybody in the city – estimated at 10 – 15 thousand in the middle of the 1st century. That would be about ¼ the population of Danville Va. In Danville, not everybody is part of the church. If you are part of The Body of Christ you have been are “called out from the world.” In today’s culture, we like to try to be inclusive in all our language today – for example, “Everybody is a Child of God.” Let me share my humble opinion about that statement – “NO – NO – NO.” The Bible calls all Believers the Children of God – declares Christ is our Brother – includes us as Adopted into the Family of God. To be clear – everyone in the world is a unique creation of God – made in the image of God, but we – you and me – all who have been saved by the blood of Jesus – we are each a Child of God. Yes, these are not words of in-clusion, these are words of ex-clusion that define the Church.
Every hear that saying – with great privilege comes great responsibility – to be separated from the world calls them/us to a higher level of ethical behavior, even as God called the Israelites: Leviticus 11:45 “For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
Ex. 19:5-6 “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’”
We read the same in the New Testament:
Ephesians 4 “1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
And just in case they thought – like so many today – I can claim the name Christian and do whatever I want – Paul is very specific
Ephesians 5:3 “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;”
They were saints – holy ones. We are saints today (not like in the Roman Catholic church – that’s saint with a capital ‘S”) . We are all called to lead lives of holiness – we will talk about this more as we go through Philippians because there is a reason. Listen to Phil. 2:15 “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,”. Has the preacher ever told you before that the world is watching us? Are we as bright and shiny as we need to be? The darker it gets in the world – the more we need to be the BLING of God – we need to be the light in the darkness!
Too often, we think of the Christian as “a sinner saved by grace.” In the NT, “sinner” is used over 300 times and it never refers to the Believer. So profound is the change God works in salvation, that we are called “holy ones/saints.”
I want to share a little bit of Neil Anderson’s take on this. With a 6-month-old in my house for a season – a blessed season! – burping has become a BIG DEAL! Several times during each bottle – we pause to get the air out of his little tummy. When he burps – we praise him! “Good job, Beaux!” When his older brother who is almost 6 burps out loud at the dinner table there is a very different reaction. Guess what? We all burp. We do, but I don’t introduce myself and say – “Hi, my name is John and I’m a burper.”
So – can we stop calling ourselves “sinners” and start letting the awesome, miraculous change God worked in you and me define us as the saints of God. What does the Word of God tell us?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ's body.
Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
Colossians 1:13-14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God's temple.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
Ephesians 2:10 I am God's workmanship.
Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me
We all fail… we all stumble… we all fall – but that does not make you fallen!
In the Freedom in Christ course, we heard a story about the princess who kissed a frog and he was changed into a handsome prince. Now imagine they go to dinner to celebrate. As they are sitting at the table, a fly comes buzzing along. The prince jumps up and catches the fly with his tongue. (pause) Is he a frog again? No, he’s acting like a frog. Each of us has the sin nature or “old man” that still comes out while we live changed lives. When we sin, we repent and rest in the love of the Father.
Remember – nothing you do as a saint in the Church can make God love you more or love you less. Why? He already loves you this much – (arms out wide) – His only Son died on the cross for you to walk in grace and peace Paul wrote of in v. 3. You don’t earn it – you can receive it this day. Maybe a change in how you look at yourself… not as a sinner, but rather as a saint – will open the flow. I have told you how much I love Romans 8. There was a day when I suffered from lots of self-condemnation – you see, I knew what was in my past – “where all the bodies were buried”. When I finally experienced the freedom Christ died for – once and for all – I read Romans 8 in a whole new way! Listen to Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
No condemnation – for all the saints. Grace and peace for all the saints! Amen
